The Darkest Hour
by MaryRoyale
Summary: Walburga isn't getting any younger, and her family is urging her to marry. The only problem is that Walburga won't accept anything less than Orion Black. This is a companion piece to Arx Domus Nigrae. Angst. Mention of attempted suicide. Walburga/Orion.


_A/N: Walburga was born in 1925. Orion was born in 1929. Cygnus was born in 1938. While it is entirely possible that Walburga and Orion did not get married until 1958, the year before Sirius' birth, (when she would have been 33 and he would have been 28) it is exceedingly unlikely._

 _This is meant to be a companion piece to Arx Domus Nigrae. I've had some people ask about Orion and Cygnus, and their back stories, but it would be cumbersome to include every last detail within the main story. Therefore, I give you this one-shot, which helps fill in the blanks a bit—and helps me get into the heads of the characters a bit more. I imagine at some point Cygnus shall get one of these as well._

 _/\/\/\/\_

 _Summer, 1945_

 _Swallowsgate, Cambridgeshire_

"What is this?" Irma Black demanded waving a sheaf of papers in her daughter's face.

"I rejected Thaddeus Selwyn's suit," Walburga retorted haughtily. She tossed her blonde curls and curled her lip. "The very idea that I, a daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, would lower myself to marry him is laughable."

"At twenty, the time for being choosy is past," Irma snapped.

"Well, we can't all marry at 13," Walburga pointed out with a smirk.

Irma's eyes narrowed and she flushed. "You know damn well that was accident. Pollux didn't know that his mother was brewing a Lust Potion. He thought it was Babbling Beverage."

"As you say, Mother," Walburga drawled.

"You've turned down every eligible bachelor possible," Irma continued. "Just whom do you expect to marry?"

Walburga shrugged. "Someone befitting my station."

"You're getting above yourself, my girl." Irma drew herself up and looked down her nose at her daughter. "You'll end up like Cassiopeia if you aren't careful."

"What's wrong with that?" Walburga asked carelessly.

Irma threw her hands in the air. "I give up."

/\/\/\/\

 _Black Manor_

Every year in August the Black family gathered together at the ancestral estate. Despite having been married to Arcturus for over 20 years, Melania still felt like an outsider. She spied Lucretia standing next to her husband Ignatius Prewett. Melania hadn't been thrilled with the idea of her daughter marrying a man 20 years older, but Arcturus had wanted the alliance with the Prewett family. Thank Merlin, Ignatius appeared to be a kind wizard, and Lucretia had grown fond of him.

"Where is Orion?" Arcturus drawled coolly.

"He's about somewhere," Melania soothed. "I think he was playing with young Cygnus."

Laughter drifted across the lawn and Melania turned to see Orion chasing his cousin Cygnus who was shrieking with joy. She couldn't help but smile at the sight both boys made as they played together.

Her Orion had always been a beautiful boy, but in the last year his shoulders had broadened and he had shot up at least 7 inches. His face had lost the last bit of baby fat and his strong jaw and high cheekbones were well-defined. He now towered over her, and looked to be a grown wizard for all that he had only completed his Fifth Year at Hogwarts.

Then there was little Cygnus. He was too young for Hogwarts at 7, but Melania knew that eventually he would be just as handsome as her own son. He had the thick curls that most of the Blacks had, but his eyes were dark like Violetta's rather than the steel grey of Pollux's eyes.

"Walburga just turned 20," Arcturus murmured as he watched his son run across the lawn his robes flapping behind him.

"I know," Melania replied cautiously. "I sent our present, and we received a thank you card."

"She's refused every available wizard," Arcturus continued.

Melania watched her husband silently. She wasn't sure what he was getting at, but she had learned to be patient.

"She came to me earlier today." Arcturus turned to look at his wife. "She wants Orion."

"What do you mean, she wants Orion? He's only 15 years old," Melania hissed as quietly as she could. Furious rage swept through her at thought of giving away her only son—her baby—to Walburga of all people.

"She is a daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Black," Arcturus drawled. "She wants the best, and that's our Orion."

Melania bit the inside of her cheek to keep from biting out a comment about Walburga being from the lower-ranked cadet branch, and only wanting to marry Orion so that she could be the future Matriarch. She tried to calm herself, to keep her head. Orion needed her, and she would not fail him.

"Orion is also from the Ancient and Noble House of Black," Melania pointed out. "You can't marry him off at 15 as though he _must_ marry, especially not to his cousin. Arcturus, really."

"She's his second cousin," Arcturus corrected Melania coolly. "And I wasn't planning on having them wed today."

"Why make them wed at all?" Melania pressed her husband. "Surely, you'll want to make a match that will create an alliance for our House as you did with Lucretia?"

Arcturus hummed in agreement. "That's true," he murmured at last.

Melania was not so foolish as to breathe a sigh of relief. She knew that this was only the first salvo in what would surely be a war of epic proportions. To her knowledge, Walburga had never been denied anything she wanted. She fisted her hands in the folds of her robes where no one might see.

/\/\/\/\

 _Spring, 1947_

 _Black Manor, Cambridgeshire_

"Patriarch, the situation is becoming untenable. Walburga is 22. People are starting to talk." Pollux paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Let them," Arcturus snapped. "We are the Ancient and Noble House of Black. We bow to no one."

"Yes sir," Pollux agreed.

"Still, something should be done," Arcturus muttered. He looked at his cousin and frowned. "Is the chit still insisting on marrying Orion?"

Pollux snorted. "Yes sir."

"The boy hasn't graduated Hogwarts. Melania will have a fit if we do anything before June," Arcturus sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps this summer."

/\/\/\/\

"Have you been hexed?" Melania demanded so furious that she risked her husband's wrath without a thought. "He's only 17 years old!"

"What is your point, wife?" Arcturus ground out between clenched teeth.

Melania flinched at the not-so-subtle reminder that she was not a Matriarch. "Shouldn't he at least attain a Mastery?" She begged. "How can he support a family without any way to earn a living?"

"He'll be the future Patriarch," Arcturus protested.

The fight raged on for days, but in the end, Melania won. She had to pinch herself to believe that it was true, but it was. Orion had been granted leave to earn a Mastery before marrying Walburga. Delivering the news to her son was not quite as joyous as one might hope.

Horror filled Orion's silver-grey eyes. "Mother... you can't be serious," he whispered. "I can't stand Walburga!"

"I know you can't," Melania agreed. She gave him a sad little smile. "She wanted you two years ago, but I convinced the Patriarch to let you graduate. She asked again, and he was considering this summer, but I've convinced him to let you do a Mastery."

"I will never marry her," Orion swore.

Melania glared at her son. "Are you willing to be disowned over it?" She demanded.

All the blood drained from Orion's face. "Disowned?"

"You think that the Patriarch will just let you defy him?" Melania snorted. "You should know better by now, Orion."

"But Mother... she's so old," Orion complained.

"22 isn't ancient," Melania pointed out drily. "Poor Lucretia was married to a 38 year-old wizard when she was 18."

"But... _Walburga_ ," Orion spat out her name with a grimace.

"I wish I could change this for you, my son, but I can't. The only thing I was able to do was buy you some time." Melania turned away and stared out the window. "I'm so sorry Orion."

"This isn't your fault, Mother," Orion protested. "It's _his_."

/\/\/\/\

 _23 May, 1950_

 _Black Manor_

The entire day had passed in a blur that Orion could never quite recall. He'd begun drinking at dawn, and by the time lunch rolled around he was a bit wobbly. He had barely been able to dress himself in the formal wedding robes, and Cygnus, who was only 12, had rolled his eyes at him and helped him button his shirt.

"She's not quite that bad," Cygnus had huffed at him.

Orion had snorted derisively. "You bed her then," he'd retorted.

Cygnus made a gagging noise. "She's my sister, Orion!"

"I don't want this," Orion muttered. "I've never wanted this."

"I know." Cygnus carefully tied his tie for him. "But you don't have a choice."

Orion made a face. "No, I don't." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I wish there was another way. Any other way." He pulled away from Cygnus and moved to look out the window.

Cygnus watched him for a moment. "They told me," he offered after several minutes of silence. "I'm supposed to watch you. Make sure you're safe."

"I'm not surprised," Orion muttered bitterly. "'Groom poisons himself to avoid wedding' doesn't make for the sort of headlines that our Patriarch wants."

"Are you all right?" Cygnus asked with a quaver in his voice.

Orion shook his head to clear it and gave his younger cousin a ghastly smile that was a pale imitation of his normal smile. "I'll be fine," he lied.

That wasn't exactly true. He'd almost been successful, except for the fact that his mother had come home early from visiting her friends. She had been terrified and absolutely furious with him. The Healers said that he'd damaged his heart, and he needed to be careful. Orion fought the urge to snort to himself. If there was one thing that would be safe in a marriage with Walburga, it would be his heart.

The ceremony was best forgotten. In fact, Orion did his damnedest to do just that. He drank heavily throughout the wedding breakfast, and ignored Walburga's glares. By the time they were supposed to slip off together he was pleasantly numb.

"Come along, husband," Walburga cooed at him.

Orion fought the urge to throw up on her shoe, but it was a close thing.

"The Patriarch and Papa have given us our own house." Walburga preened at him as she dragged him toward the Floo. "Our own little love nest."

It was a matter of pride that Orion could never recall his wedding night. The fact that the details were forever lost to him was something he cherished. The only thing he could recall was waking up in the middle of the night to christen the toilet bowl by vomiting up the entire contents of his stomach. When he was finished he wandered out into the little courtyard of his new home.

Through the trees he could make out his constellation. He always knew where it was in the night sky. He leaned against a willow and stared at the stars, blinking back tears.

"I know that you're more legend than anything," he whispered, "but I wish you were real."

The wind blew and the slender branches of the willow moved, caressing him with the leaves.

"If you were real," he continued softly, "maybe you could save me."

The wind sighed sadly and Orion choked back a sob.

"I know... it's too late for that now," he muttered. He rubbed at his eyes with his palms. "Get a grip on yourself, Orion. You'll be chatting up sprites, next."

Slowly, he made his way back into the house. The wind ruffled his hair, but he refused to turn around. There was no point. There was no hope for him.


End file.
